The present invention relates to hand held grinding devices and the like. More specifically the invention relates to a grinder for peppercorns, coarse salt, spices, foliage greens and similar condiments in which grinding is achieved by a relative rotational motion of the parts caused by a twisting motion of the hands.
The desirability of freshly ground spices and other condiments is well known both for seasoning main dishes of meats, vegetables and salads and also for adding seasoning to an individual serving to suit the taste. Grinders for salt and peppercorns are in wide use. Such grinders are designed for and serve a single purpose. The improved flavor of freshly ground spices and the accompanying aroma which results during grinding make it desirable to have a simple grinder in the food preparation area or at the table which can be adapted to grind a wide variety of condiments to coarse or fine consistency.
Many granulators and milling devices are known in the prior art. Several such devices known to the applicant are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos:
______________________________________ 4,082,230 Bounds 3,991,947 Schlessel 3,827,641 Andersson 3,642,045 Buvelot 2,602,596 Jones 659,822 Moore 247,503 Laha ______________________________________
A thorough investigation of the prior art reveals devices for grinding which are held in the hands and grind a material with a twisting motion. Some have a large number of moving parts of hardened steel or special plastics with sharp cutting edges and driving gears to transmit the twisting motion of the body to the central cutting edges. Such devices are costly to manufacture and create a problem for the user when cutting edges become dull or gears wear so that the teeth slip. Replacement of parts is generally not possible and the entire device must be discarded. Some grinders provide a container for the unground condiment but give the operator no choice but to let the ground material drop free from the device. Other grinders which do include a container to hold the ground material fail to include the option of having the ground material fall free. No hand held grinders have been found in the prior art which offer the user a choice of grinding from coarse to fine or grinding a wide variety of condiments with the same device by interchangeable grinding screens where each screen is specifically suited to a particular condiment and which consist of a very few molded parts which can be disassembled readily for cleaning, easily manufactured at a low cost.